Why this research is important

Multi-enzyme catalysis is becoming increasingly important to produce complex molecules. However, the enzymes must first be extracted and purified from biological systems. Thereby several separation steps are necessary, which leads to increased production costs. These could be drastically reduced with the help of magnetotactic bacteria. These bacteria orient themselves to the earth’s magnetic field and align themselves accordingly by means of special magnetic nanoparticles. A few years ago, the first work on in vitro immobilisation of enzymes with magnetosomes and subsequent purification by magnetic separation was published. Building on these, this project aims to develop a new platform technology that would enable the facile production and subsequent purification of multi-enzyme biocatalysts.

Who you will be working with

You will work in a vibrant department, and more specifically in a multi-disciplinary group that has expertise in synthetic biology, enzyme expression/characterisation and biocatalysis. This project will be complementary to ongoing work on multi-step flow biocatalysis using enzymes immobilised on commercially sourced magnetic nanoparticles.

What you will be doing

You will be learning how to use synthetic biology approaches to engineer and functionalise magnetosomes, how to purify magnetic nanoparticles and immobilise enzymes onto them, design and characterise enzyme microreactors and perform flow biocatalysis with single and multiple immobilised enzymes.

Who we are looking for

A highly motivated, self-reliant bioscientist or biochemical engineer who already has synthetic biology and/or biocatalysis experience or is willing to learn corresponding techniques and wants to obtain a foundation suitable for later academic or industrial career.

Application deadline is on 28th January 2025 at 13:00 UK time.

Guidance how to apply can be found here, and only applications submitted via the official portal will be considered for interviews:

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